A sweet and almost sickly scent filled the air, blowing across the desert on the hot but rapid breeze. Diamond Tiara’s hooves sank into the moist sand below as she walked through the endless plain of blooms. Colors of every size and shape surrounded her, perched on immense and diverse succulent plants the likes of which had never been seen by any Equestrian naturalist- -or at least any who had lived long enough to record their findings.

Within this alien forest, with its leafless trees and floor more like that of a beach than a desert, Diamond Tiara broke out into laughter. She began to run. Not to anything, nor away from it; her mind was burdened under the weight of happiness that she could almost not bear- -and a happiness that she was distantly aware was not hers.

As she danced alone- -and never alone- -through the plants, she became aware that in the distance, the sun was perched on the empty, unreachable hills of the far beyond. She stopped, and watched as the sky began to change as the sun set, shifting from clear blue to sickly green.

Diamond Tiara’s heart skipped, and she felt the panic starting to flow through her. Unlike the happiness, this emotion truly was hers, and she remembered it well.

Then they came. Diamond Tiara turned around, and saw gray, faceless ponies step forward, their paths unhindered by the cactuses that had suddenly become so much more thorny.

“N- -no!” cried Diamond Tiara, trying to step away from them only to find that they surrounded her on all sides. “Stay away!”

The approaching ponies stopped, but they did not depart. It was unclear if they heard Diamond Tiara, or if they even could hear. They instead surrounded her, a circle of ghostly gray beings. Their faces were impossible to see, but Diamond Tiara could see their mouths. They were speaking, continually whispering.

“What do you want from me?” asked Diamond Tiara. She expected a response, but there was none. “I- -I gave you what you wanted! Why are you still here?”

Their mouths continued to move, all of them speaking directly to Diamond Tiara. Then, all at once, they stopped- -and each unfurled a pair of long, skeletal wings.

Diamond Tiara bolted upright in her bed and immediately regretted it. The sudden motion caused pain to shoot through her skull, a familiar but nonetheless unbearable sensation.

“Buck!” swore Diamond Tiara, reaching for her nightstand. She reached into the small, largely decorative drawer that sat below where her tiara was perched and rummaged through, quickly removing a small and mostly empty bottle of pills. She quickly pulled the foal-safe cap off with her mouth and took several of the capsules. She then backed up against her headboard and rubbed her forehead, waiting for the pain to depart.

The headaches were not new. Diamond Tiara had been living them for six years. They did not happen often, but they occurred often enough to be noticeable. Sometimes they were accompanied by other symptoms. Sometimes there were voices, and sometimes there were dreams. Diamond Tiara had just learned to deal with the pain and live with it.

In the past few months, though, the headaches had increased greatly in frequency. Diamond Tiara attributed the uptick to stress, especially considering the upcoming events.

She sighed and leaned back, looking down at the bed that she slept in. It had been far too large for her as a filly, and it was still to uselessly large for her as a young mare. Everything the Rich’s owned seemed to be. Even her bedroom itself was excessive, an enormous room with expensive paintings that she did not like and expensive fine furniture that she never used. It was so big and so clean that it made her sick to look at it. Sick and lonely.

Celestia’s sunlight was pouring in through the windows, indicating that Diamond Tiara had slept in. Not that it mattered especially much. She just did not particularly like the brightness, especially when she woke up with another migraine.

Eventually, the pain started to dull and Diamond Tiara was able to crawl out of bed. She picked up her characteristic and required headgear and threaded it through her long bicolor mane. As she did, she took note of the fact that the stripe of gray in her hair was beginning to widen.”

“Well,” she said, “at least I’m not Silver Spoon.”

While Straightening her hair, Diamond Tiara made a mental list of what she needed to do on that particular day. Her heart momentarily skipped with excitement and nervousness when she remembered what she was supposed to do later. She made a mental note to take a bath later, ideally with unscented soap.

First, though, was breakfast. Diamond Tiara understood the implications of that- -nothing for a Rich was as simple as “just breakfast”- -but knew that she would have to risk it. If she recalled correctly, Silver Spoon had sent over some scones that were probably waiting in the mansion’s brand-new RichTech icebox. Diamond Tiara just hoped that this time the scones would not be dangerously irradiated.

Diamond Tiara pulled herself off her stool and pushed open the large oaked doors to her room- -which, with a combination of stain and pretentious carving, somehow still managed to look tacky despite their price- -and immediately came face-to-face with one of the maids.

“Oh! Mistress Tiara!” she cried, the linens she was carrying nearly dropping out of her magic as it momentarily faltered. “I was not aware that you were up! If I had, I would have had your clothes prepared.”

“No clothes today,” said Diamond Tiara groggily. “Hey, do we have any of that unscented shampoo?”

“Unscented? If the scent isn’t what you like- -”

“Never mind. I’ll find it myself.” Diamond Tiara wracked her brain trying to remember that particular unicorn maid’s name. “That will be all…Blueberry?”

Blueberry’s eyes widened with joy that Diamond Tiara had actually remembered her name.” Thank you, Mistress Tiara! And when you’re ready, just let one of us know and we can have the bath poured and ready to go!”

“Thanks,” muttered Diamond Tiara. She knew that Blueberry was just doing her job; Rich maids were chosen specifically for being perky and, ideally, at least slightly unattractive. Diamond Tiara had just always found the idea of maids strange and unpleasant, especially since her father required them to wear a certain highly specific uniform. Diamond Tiara herself much preferred drones, but her mother hated them and, as such, did not permit them in the Rich’s Ponyville manor.

The maid went back to her business as Diamond Tiara slowly made her way to the breakfast room through the oversized, overly ornate hallway. It was, as always, completely empty and bordered with closed doors that led to empty but immaculately clean rooms filled with more expensive furniture and fine things that nopony would ever use.

Diamond Tiara suddenly remembered that she had forgotten to ask if her mother had already gotten up. Despite the size of the Rich mansion, avoiding Spoiled Rich was surprisingly difficult. Diamond Tiara did not want to have to talk to her if she could avoid it, especially on this day.

Ahead of her, she spied another servant. This one, oddly, was male. That struck Diamond Tiara as slightly odd; usually, the only male staff were the “butlers”- -really more of bodyguards- -the gardening crew, and an oddly large number of pool colts. This particular butler was an unusually tall unicorn.

“Hey!” called Diamond Tiara. “You there!”

He looked at her with a pair of unusually light eyes, and then turned away, walking quickly down a side hallway.

“I know you saw me!” yelled Diamond Tiara. She broke into a trot after him, but by the time she reached the intersection that he had gone down, she could find no trace of him. The hallways around her were quite long, so Diamond Tiara assumed that he must have broken into a full sprint the moment he saw her. That was unusual- -for her, at least. The help usually only did that when they saw Spoiled Rich approaching. Especially the pool colts. “What the hay,” she said under her breath, feeling a sudden jolt of pain in her head. “What kind of help is Spoiled hiring these days?”

Since the formal dining rooms were generally reserved for hosting, Diamond Tiara elected to dine in a smaller region of the ground floor that was immediately adjacent to the kitchen, a kind of miniature restaurant with a bar and several stylish tables also meant for hosting but much less of an ordeal to eat at.

Diamond Tiara sat on one of the vinyl stools at the bar, nibbling on a scone . It was berry flavored, and she could almost taste Silver Spoon in it. The coffee, meanwhile, was not so good. Silver Spoon knew exactly how to make it, and when the Rich servants tried, they just ended up making it bitter and overly hot.

The servants may not have made good coffee, but they understood Diamond Tiara’s habits well. When she arrived, there was already a copy of the morning paper waiting for her. She quickly turned to the business section to check the stocks. Rich Industries was not publicly traded, so there was no information on it, but it paid to examine the competitors. After checking that, Diamond Tiara would read the main articles in the business section concerning new policies, then cross-reference with the front section to try to predict potential trends. It always took longer, but her private portfolio could attest to the fact that it was more than worth it.

Before she had barely gotten through the list of new incorporations, though, a set of loud hoofsteps brought Diamond Tiara’s attention to the door. She groaned, hoping that it was her father- -but turned to see her mother, as expected.

Spoiled Rich was dressed in a robe and looked up at Diamond Tiara, her teal eyes barely able to summon enough energy to produce a disapproving stare. She appeared disheveled; her hair was unbrushed, her coat looked pale, and from the bags under her eyes, it was apparent that Spoiled had not gotten much sleep.

“You want something to eat, Spoiled?”

Spoiled Rich put her hoof to her mouth and suppressed a retch at the thought of food. “Where are those servants,” she said, her voice cracking from just having woken up.

“Right here,” said a dull-red mare. She bounded out of the kitchen with a tray with a large glass of some kind of unpleasant looking green fluid and a body of pink liquid, which was of course Pony-Bismol.

“You look terrible,” noted Diamond Tiara.

“Well that makes two of us,” growled Spoiled, pouring part of the Pony-Bismol into her grass shake and sipping at it. “It’s the fertility treatments…ohhh…that, and the lack of sleep.”

“I noticed,” said Diamond Tiara. “Remind me to get some earplugs the next time I go to town. I don’t see why you’re putting yourself through this, Spoiled.”

“I’m your mother. Can’t you just call me ‘mother’ like a normal girl? And you know quite well why I’m doing this.”

“I’ll call you ‘mother’ the day you start acting like one. But aren’t you a little- -”

“Don’t you dare say old!” Spoiled slammed her hoof onto the table, causing her drink to shake and herself to become nauseous. “I’m not old!”

“Well,” said Diamond Tiara, already knowing how that conversation would go- -and had gone before. “It’s just that daddy is almost ready to retire. Don’t you think it’s a little late in the game to be dealing with a foal?”

“I’m just doing what I have to,” snapped Spoiled. “If Filthy wants to retire, he’s going to need an heir to take on the company. And since you clearly can’t have a proper son, that means it’s up to me.”

“I’m eighteen. I will have a foal- -a son or a daughter- -when I’m ready.”

“It’s not a matter of timing, Diamond Tiara. It’s a matter of with WHAT.”

Diamond Tiara’s eyes narrowed. “Oh. So that’s what this is about. Here we go.”

“Don’t you take that tone with ME. Especially not- -” Spoiled Rich clapped her hooves over her mouth and waited out the sudden surge of nausea. When it passed, she glared up at Diamond Tiara. “We’ve given you everything, Diamond Tiara, and this is how you repay us?”

“I’m not having this conversation, Spoiled. It’s too early.”

“I’ve even gone out of my way to find you a proper husband. The list of stallions prestigious enough to enter our family and sire our heir is not large.” She sighed. “I’ll never understand why you didn’t take to that Blueblood…”

“Um, because he’s twice my age? And going BALD? And a vain, conceited narcissist who treats everypony else like sunbaked road apples. No wonder you like him, come to think of it.”

“Yes, but he’s a PRINCE.”

“Don’t you hate unicorns anyway?”

Spoiled groaned and threw her head back. “Diamond Tiara, you’re almost a mare now, and you STILL don’t get it. It’s the same reason why all of our servants are unicorns. The point is to claim one of their best, to take all that status and glory and take it for yourself.”

“And if you’re ‘heir’ were born as a unicorn?”

“Well, there are certain procedures to correct…cosmetic deformities.”

“You would certainly know a lot about that.”

“You should defiantly consider some yourself. Some liposuction…no, more than some. You’ll never get a husband being that fat.”

Diamond Tiara ignored that last comment. She was not especially fat- -but there was no way she could ever be thin enough or pretty enough for her mother. It had taken Diamond Tiara years to realize that neither of those things mattered especially much, but by the time she had, her relationship with Spoiled Rich had been damaged beyond repair.

Setting down the paper, Diamond Tiara jumped down from the stool and went behind the bar. She reached toward the bottom and removed a bottle of amber fluid. She set it on the counter.

“Still hitting the cider, I see,” said Spoiled. “You certainly are a disappointment.”

“It’s apple juice,” snapped Diamond Tiara. “I’ve been off the cider for two years now. Not that you ever noticed. Or cared either way.”

“Well, the sugar is terrible for your hips. But hey,” she shrugged. “It’s not like you can get much worse than you are now. So, by all means, just be an uncultured slob.”

“You first.” Diamond Tiara pulled the cap off the bottle and took a long sip. It was sweet and refreshing.

“You should at least consider ONE real pony,” said Spoiled. “When I was your age, I already had lists of stallions and their earning potential. I used to lay them out and dream about which one I would marry…” she smiled nostalgically, and then frowned at Diamond Tiara. “And the Pony Prom is coming up. You could invite one of them to go with you. Although, then again, I doubt any truly qualified pony would want to associate with the commoners who will be in attendance.”

“Those ‘commoners’ are my friends,” snapped Diamond Tiara. “And I know the Prom is coming up. I’ve been heading the planning committee. For six MONTHS. And, just so you know, I already have a date.”

Spoiled’s eyes widened. “You didn’t- -”

“I did. And he’s coming today.”

“Diamond, you can’t, if they see you- -and him- -”

“They’ll what? Realize that Equestria’s premier technology company doesn’t actually have an R&D department? That maybe we had HELP getting this wealthy?”

“We don’t need HELP! We got this far because your father’s prudent business decisions and my ability to navigate the social landscape! And if you bring that- -that THING - -”

“This isn’t open for discussion.”

“It is if you’re ruining your life! If you do that- -we’ll throw you out! We can’t associate with a pony that would- -would- -”

Diamond Tiara smirked. “And I’ll just go to daddy, and he’ll let me right back in.”

Spoiled Rich’s natural shade of pink darkened several shades into a shade of light red, and Diamond Tiara jumped down from her stool. “And just so you know, I’ll be spending the next few days in our old house in town.”

“You mean the guest house? But you CAN’T! You’re not a guest! What would they say? And isn’t that where that filthy urchin is staying? You know how much I disapprove of you associating with her!”

Diamond Tiara cringed, and tried to prevent herself from yelling at her “mother”. “You used to love Silver Spoon. She was like a sister to me- -you loved her more than you loved ME!”

“That was when she was at our level in society. Now…”

“It isn’t her fault!”

“No, it was her parents. And she is a product of that unfortunate pairing.” Spoiled tsk-tsked condescendingly. “That’s a problem with old money, Diamond Tiara. When you’ve never had to work for your money, you tend to squander it.”

“That doesn’t mean she’s any less of a pony!”

“Yes. Yes it does. Much less of a pony.”

“No! Not to me. She’s my best friend, and she always will be. No matter how much money she has or doesn’t have.”

Spoiled Rich’s eyes narrowed. “I hope your coltfriend gets her pregnant.”

“Well at least she’d BE ABLE TO!”

Spoiled gaped, and then gasped and sputtered before finally just glaring at Diamond Tiara, who glared back at her. The glaring continued until Filthy Rich entered the room, his hair already slicked back and an extremely satisfied expression on his face. He looked at his wife, and then at his daughter and, still oblivious, continued to smile.

“Is something happening?” he asked cheerfully.

“I was just leaving,” said Diamond Tiara.

“Yes,” hissed Spoiled. “She most certainly was.”

“Oh. Already? I thought we could have breakfast together. We could have eggs. Even if they’re not very fresh anymore.” Spoiled Rich immediately turned her glare on him, and he backed away nervously, not understanding what he had said to offend her.

“Sorry, daddy. I don’t have time. I have a lot to do today.”

“Oh. Okay.” Filthy looked somewhat dejected and took a seat at the table where his wife was sitting- -as far away from her as possible.

“Don’t worry. We can have dinner later in the week.” Diamond Tiara narrowed her eyes on her mother’s. “I’ll even be bringing a guest.”

“You little daughter of a- -”

“You?” Diamond Tiara smirked, hiding her seething rage, and then turned toward the door, compulsively flicking her tail at her mother. These conversations were the reason why she despised Spoiled sometimes. Diamond Tiara knew it was wrong to hate her own mother, and on some level- -an especially deep level- -she actually did care for her, even if the feeling was not reciprocated. Every time they were in the same room, though, things went downhill quickly.

Diamond Tiara took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Her headache had, oddly, decreased greatly. At the same time, her desire for cider had increased. There was no time for feeling angry, though. There was much to be done.